Colin Kaepernick wants out of San Francisco, according to a report. Not only that, but he apparently has a specific destination for himself in mind.
Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News cites sources who claim Kaepernick is hoping to part ways with the 49ers this offseason so he can play for the New York Jets. The Jets are reportedly aware of Kaepernick’s desire to play for them and are said to be “intrigued,” though they want to be cautious about not committing any tampering violations.
This is obviously a major change-up from everything we have heard since the end of the season about both the Jets and 49ers. For starters, the Jets fell just one game short of making the playoffs and all signs have pointed to them re-signing Ryan Fitzpatrick. Mehta reports that Fitzpatrick and the Jets will discuss an extension in the coming weeks, so perhaps he remains a priority if they can get him at a reasonable price.
On the other side, there have been rumblings that Chip Kelly wanted to trade for Kaepernick even if Chip didn’t end up in San Francisco. One report also claimed that Mike Shanahan did not want Kaepernick to be his quarterback, which is why the Niners chose to hire Kelly over their former offensive coordinator.
The 49ers have until April 1 to decide if they want to make Kaepernick’s $11.9 million salary for 2016 fully guaranteed. They could also decide to trade him before then.
According to Mehta, Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan considers Fitzpatrick to be more of a short-term solution and is intrigued by the possibility of landing a 28-year-old quarterback with Kaepernick’s talent level at what he considers to be a fair price. The Jets only have six draft picks this season (one in each of the first four rounds), so they would likely prefer if the 49ers cut Kaepernick.
Kapernick’s strength is the read-option offense, which is something Kelly has had success with in the past. However, if you read the comments Kelly made about Kaepernick in his introductory press conference with the Niners, you might not be convinced that Kaepernick is Chip’s guy.
This will certainly be something to monitor in the coming weeks.
